Student Challenges
BULLYING PROBLEMS
When schools are faced with a student who bullies, it is clear that swift action must be taken. However, students who engage in bullying behaviours are caught in a dynamic that cannot be changed by teaching them better social skills, empathy, the error of their ways, or by imposing harsher consequences. Nor can this dynamic be altered by teaching the other students how to 'stand up to bullying' or become 'good bystanders'. These tactics may change where the bullying happens, but they are not effective in dealing with the roots of this dynamic and the behaviour will just show up in another place or become more subtle and harder to uncover. Interventions with these students must focus on creating the conditions so that they can allow themselves to depend on the adults at school to take care of them, so that they no longer need to “take care of themselves” by intimidating other students in their place. This process is not easy to implement and it takes time, however, the long term results help both the student to get out of this hurtful dynamic and protects the students who may have become their victims.
The Bully at School Webinar
The Bully Dynamic Webinar
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS FOR SCHOOLS (ENGLISH AND FRENCH VERSIONS)
EDITORIAL: Dealing with Bullying: What Doesn’t Work and What Will
Deborah MacNamara
Bullying ranks high on the list of parenting concerns and for good reason. According to the National Institute of Mental Health in the United States, in any 6-week period, one third of children report being bullied and it is on the rise.
To read more: https://www.cebm.ca/post/dealing-with-bullying-what-doesn-t-work-and-what-will
The Vulnerability Problem of the Bully
Deborah MacNamara
Bullies thrive on exploiting the vulnerability in others. Instead of protecting those who are in a weaker position they take advantage of them. They revel in having the upper hand. They don’t play by the rules or believe the rules apply to them.
To read more: https://www.cebm.ca/post/the-vulnerability-problem-of-the-bully
The Vulnerability Problem of the Bully
Deborah MacNamara
Lucy was the name of my bully in grade 6. At the age of 11 her mother had died suddenly from a cancer leaving behind 4 children and a husband. Lucy didn’t get mean right away; she seemed lost and sad at first. I remember my teacher telling us we should show her compassion and we did, for a while.
To read more: https://www.cebm.ca/post/who-will-take-care-of-the-bully
On Punishment for Bullying — and Punishment as Bullying
Alfie Kohn
Bullying at school has attracted an enormous amount of attention, spurring academic studies and popular books, regulations and training sessions for educators. By now its status as a serious problem is widely acknowledged, as it should be. We can never go back to the days when bullying was regarded as a boys-will-be-boys rite of passage, something that victims were left to deal with (and suffer from) alone.
To read more: https://www.alfiekohn.org/article/punishment-bullying/